Juda Aburriah slowly opened his bright blue eyes, a blue so bright that it appeared as if it were glowing. There was no light in the room except for a small lamp situated on the floor next to him, giving Juda just enough light to see the ceiling above him. With the curtains drawn over his rather small window, it should've been quite difficult for Juda to know what time it was, but it wasn't. As someone who always woke up around 5:00 each morning, guessing the time was unnecessary.
Throwing the blanket aside and standing up from the floor, Juda grabbed the small lamp by the handle and headed to his bedroom door. It wasn't so much as a door as it was a large piece of wood that had been lain against the doorframe, the real door having been broken long ago before Juda had even been old enough to walk.
Removing the wood as softly as he could, Juda made his way down the hallway and into the bathroom which was pretty much empty except a stack of neatly folded clothes and a large bathtub. There was no toilet in the house as well as no running water. If anyone from Juda's family wanted water then they would either have to conjure it up themselves using Water Elemental magic or they would have to walk the full five miles to the west where Lake Veridy was and gather it from there. If one wanted to use the bathroom then there was also the forest located around the lake.
Juda set down his lamp and began changing into the clothes lying in the corner. The clothes didn't exactly fit him as they were hand-me-downs from his father so they were a bit loose and slightly too long. However, despite this, Juda had learned long ago to take what he could get and to not complain, to tackle everything with a smile and shrug off all negative emotions.
After rolling up the sleeves of his pants, Juda picked up his lamp and walked out of the bathroom, heading for the kitchen. Inside the kitchen lay three enormous barrels, about the same height as Juda himself, about 165 cm. Each barrel could hold a whole days worth of water if used conservatively. Every single morning, Juda would wake up early and make the hike up to Lake Veridy and fill the barrel to the top and then bring it back home. It was a boring task but Juda found some joy in it as it made his family happy.
Setting the lamp down on the kitchen counter, Juda put it out before heading to one of the barrels. The barrels has been modified so that one could carry it like a backpack, the straps having been reinforced with magic so that no matter how heavy the load it wouldn't break off. Slinging the barrel onto his back, Juda slid his arms through the straps before walking out the front door.
The sun hadn't even risen yet, sunrise not arriving until roughly 6:30, and the slums were as quiet as could be, not a sound could be heard apart from the chirping of the crickets. There was a cool breeze blowing which felt nice against Juda's bare feet as he began making the long walk towards the lake. Normally he would run the whole way without stopping, but today he just felt like enjoying the breeze. It wasn't exactly pleasant in the slums as it always reeked of death and sh*t, but one could occasionally find a nice breeze that would blow the smell away, leaving an entirely new scent in it's wake.
The place past the slums was known as Fantasia Forest, a huge forest that took up 1/3 of Restaka Kingdom, spanning thousands of acres. Restaka Kingdom was made up of three parts with each part taking up vasts amount of land. First there was the Noble realm where the King resided along with other royalty and nobility, where only the truly rich people lived. The place following that was the Common realm, an enormous section wrapping around the Noble realm where all the regular citizens lived. It was here in this realm where Juda resided, just on the outskirts of the realm where the poorest people lived, in the slums.
Just beyond the slums was the final part of the kingdom, Fantasia forest. The forest got its name from the amount of demonic animals that roamed the forests. The demonized animals were nicknamed Fantasia and while they weren't a huge threat to trained magicians, they were a major threat to regular citizens. Every so often, magicians sent from the Capital would swoop in and kill off as many demons as they could, seeking to quell their rising numbers. The only reason the Fantasia never attacked the slums or anywhere in the kingdom was due to the kingdoms barrier, but the magicians still had to make sure their numbers never got too high.
Normally the Fantasia forest was off limits to regular citizens unless they were escorted by trained magicians, but this rule was never really enforced. For years, with today being no different, Juda would slip out of the barrier and head for the lake which lay around four miles through Fantasia territory. The barrier didn't keep track of who went in and out as most people thought but instead was merely there to keep out the Fantasia and to deflect large scale magical spells should the need arise.
Juda once again walked past the barrier without trouble, beginning his trek through the Fantasia infested woods. However, only about a minute after stepping out of the barrier, Juda slowed down to a stop, looking from around in confusion.
"Thats odd...wheres the smell?" Juda wondered as he sniffed the air. However, no matter how much he sniffed, not a single whiff of Fantasia could be found anywhere.
This had never happened before even when the magicians had culled the number of Fantasia down to the hundreds, the smell would still linger and Juda would be able to pick it up. However, the scent was gone. It was as if the Fantasia had been gone for months or never even existed which wasn't possible as Juda make the same trip every single day. He would have noticed the smell getting weaker or disappearing altogether. Hell, just yesterday he had killed dozens on his way to the lake without much trouble so he knew there had been plenty of Fantasia recently.
"What the hell? Is my nose broken?" Juda wondered as he began walking forward again, this time with a bit of caution in his steps. "Something is most definitely wrong and I'm almost certain that it isn't my nose."
For the next mile or so, Juda kept his nose in the air trying to catch any scent that could solve the mystery as to what was going on. It wasn't until he was two miles in however that he got his first scent, a heavy scent of cologne mixed with the smell of cigarettes, a scent that was definitely out of place.
"And there's my first clue," Juda said with smile, immediately changing course to follow the unknown scent. "Its time I find the answer to the strangeness going on right now."
Juda broke into a run, easily sprinting even with the huge barrel on his back. Normally he would put getting water as his first priority but the situation right now was just too weird. This had never happened to him before so he wanted to get to the bottom of it quickly. He could still bring the water to his family, but first he needed to sate his own curiosity.
However, just as Juda was about to go full speed, a blast of fire came out of nowhere and slammed into the ground in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. Juda hadn't been expecting it and had only managed to dodge in time due to sharp instincts screaming at him to back up.
"Oh? Your still alive? Thats interesting," A masculine voice said from behind him. "Your senses are quite sharp for an ugly slum rat."
Juda didn't even have time to turn around before something slammed into his barrel, blasting a hole right through it. He could feel the heat on his back as he leapt forward, discarding the now ruined barrel and rolling to face his attacker.
Standing next to the now broken barrel was a human wrapped in a pitch black cloak, his face hidden behind a mask. He was smaller than Juda but he gave off an air of power that Juda could feel even from where he was kneeling. The cloaked figure gave off a feeling of danger and carried a scent of death as well as the scent that Juda had previously been following.
"Aw man," Juda said as he stood up from his kneeling position. "That barrel was expensive. We got two more but its still a waste of a barrel."
"Your worried about a barrel after I just attacked you? Aren't you scared or at least worried?" The cloaked figure sounded confused about the response Juda just gave, as if he wasn't expecting him to be quite this calm. "I just attacked you. You should be retaliating or running away but your thinking about a barrel?"
Juda shrugged and walked over to the broken barrel, kneeling down beside it. "This barrel cost quite a bit of money dude. Hope you got enough to cover it. Four silver coins should do."
Juda leaned his head to the side, avoiding a fatal strike the throat. He then held up a hand and blocked a kick aimed straight at his temple. His blue eyes flickered over to his attacker, taking a long look at the mask the person had on. He could feel the man's bloodlust but he didnt do anything except smile.
"Its impolite to attack when others are speaking," Juda said as he let go of the mans leg. "You could at least hear what I have to say before you attack."
The man didn't say anything as he threw out another kick towards Juda who merely blocked it as he stood up from the ground. The cloaked man began to attack with quick and precise strikes, each one aimed at vital spots on the body. Juda however was unaffected as he dodged each one of them, a curious expression on his face.
"So where'd you buy that mask?" Juda asked as he sidestepped another strike to his throat. "Did you buy it from the Wisteria Market or someplace else? It looks expensive."
Juda didn't receive an answer as a knife suddenly appeared from the man's cloak before being thrusted towards Juda with enormous killing intent. The speed of the thrust was at least twice as fast as the other ones, but sailed past Juda as he parried the arm away with the back of his hand.
"Are you done?" Juda asked with an innocent expression. "I kinda got things I need to do. You don't have to pay for the barrel but I would like an apology. Also knives are dangerous as you could hurt yourself if you don't know what your doing."
"F*ck," the cloaked man said as he backed away from Juda, knife in hand. "Who the hell are you kid? How are you so damn fast??!!"
"You seemed so strong in the beginning," Juda said as he focused his eyes on the cloaked man's mask. "Are you already tired? I prefer not to resort to violence right now to be honest. I have something to do so I'd rather resolve this quickly. Were you the one who made the Fantasia disappear?"
"Screw you slum rat, I dont have to tell you anything!!" The man shouted as he extended his hand. "Ice Magic- Cage Of Ice!!"
From all around Juda, in every direction, spikes of ice appeared and pointed in his direction. Waves of magic power could be felt as more and more spikes formed, each one sharp and deadly.
"Ooooooh," Juda said as he looked on in wonder. "Bro, that is so cool!! Never seen Ice Elemental Magic used!!! The amount of magic your putting into this.....are you going all out on this one spell?"
"Get lost you freak," The cloaked man said as he closed his hand. "Be pierced!!"
The shards of ice exploded forward, blasting towards Juda at an astounding speed. From every direction, waves of ice made their way towards Juda while ignoring the cloaked man.
However, before they could reach Juda, a flash of light surrounded him for a split second and when it disappeared, all the ice was shattered into small harmless pieces as they continued their trajectory and hit Juda head-on. The small pieces of ice merely bounced off of the young man as he brushed some of the shattered ice off his shoulder.
"How...what in the hell did you do?" The cloaked man yelled as he held up his knife. "A slum rat shouldnt be able to stand up to me!! F*ck you, you damned piece of trash!!! You little filthy b*tch!!!"
"Now now, no need to get so harsh," Juda said as he walked towards the man. "Surely you couldn't expect to beat someone when you still have to say your magic spell just for it to activate."
"Stop speaking nonsense you slum rat," The man said as he began backing away. "Everyone knows that one has to say their spell in order to activate it. That's how it works!!"
"Really?" Juda stopped moving and seemed to think about it for a second. "My dad told me that truly strong magicians can cast magic without say the spell."
The cloaked man didn't say anything at first, instead reaching into his cloak and throwing a small bag onto the floor in front of him. "Here, take this and don't follow me. I don't need a freak as strong as you trailing after me."
With those words, the cloaked man turned around and left without saying anything else.